The dark knight is easily the best batman film made period. However it does have some flaws that does set it back from being perfect. The Dark Knight goes by blisteringly fast and is incredibly intense, just like batman begins, however this time there is a TON more material that has to be gone through. Even thought the movie runs over 2 and a half hours it ran right over main plot elements and kept the viewing wondering why the story was unfolding the way it was, leaving a few plot holes. The other problem I found was it was very hard to distinguish a clear climax to the story. The dark knight is so intense in every scene it fails to build to any sort of clear climax or ending battle, which makes it exhausting to watch. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, Everything else in the dark knight was incredible. Heath Ledger's performance was something out of this world, he really blew away my expectations and added many layers to the villain he plays. It will be near impossible for any actor to follow the role he set. Christian Bale was great, batman really seems to complement his acting well. Despite it's flaws the story still kept me interested and the intensity had me on the edge of my seat throughout. It has action, romance, depth, and great acting. In conclusion, The Dark Knight was a great Summer movie, and had a surprising amount of depth. A great pick!